


Give Me Something I Can Follow

by Ithinkwehaveanemergency



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: M/M, Minor Character Death, Minor Liam Dunbar/Theo Raeken, Post-Canon, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-16
Updated: 2018-09-03
Packaged: 2019-04-23 20:33:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,387
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14340390
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ithinkwehaveanemergency/pseuds/Ithinkwehaveanemergency
Summary: Scott loves to a fault.  It will probably be his downfall one day.  But in the midst of a movement, he's what Beacon Hills needed.  He's what the supernatural world needed. Maybe that's what a true alpha really is.A man who loves endlessly and never takes anything in return.Which is why when Nolan gets kicked out of his house by his dad, just days after his 18th birthday, he finds himself on Scott McCall's doorstep.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Title from "fall together" by Temper Trap

Scott doesn't always get things right the first time.   
  
Okay, he never really gets things right the first time, but everyone understands why that little fact did nothing to stop him from being the leader of this war.  This war against hate and ignorance and intolerance. This war caused simply by fear.   
  
It was because... if there was one thing Scott could do, its love.   
  
Love is his gift.  It just comes so easily to him.  There is nothing more important when trying to get through to people driven by hate and fear, than just... love.   
  
Everyone who Scott has loved eventually moved on, but the alpha never stopped loving any of them.  He never resents them either. They're all as important to him as the next, and all still an integral part of his life in some way.   
  
That's just Scott.   
  
Scott loves to a fault.  It will probably be his downfall one day.  But in the midst of a movement, he's what Beacon Hills needed.  He's what the supernatural world needed. Maybe that's what a true alpha really is.   
  
A man who loves endlessly and never takes anything in return.   
  
Which is why when Nolan gets kicked out of his house by his dad, just days after his 18th birthday, he finds himself on Scott McCall's doorstep.   
  
"Nolan?"  Melissa peers through the crack in the door before opening it all the way when she identifies the hooded figure on her doorstep.   
  
Nolan looks up at Melissa with a smile that he knows isn't fooling anyone.   
  
His sweater hood is pulled low and he's standing crooked, but he knows she can probably see it under the harsh glow of the porch light.   
  
"Oh my gosh, what happened to your face?"  Melissa pulled her robe tighter around her body and stepped out onto the porch toward him.   
  
"Nothing, it was lacrosse.  It's already healing, don't worry."  Nolan nods, trying to make his smile more convincing.  "Is Scott here?"   
  
"No, sweetie, he and Chris are gone until morning."  Melissa grabs his jaw gently, reaching up with the other hand to brush his hood back a bit.  She accidentally kicks the duffel on the ground next to him, and it draws her attention. She raises an eyebrow at him.  "Going somewhere?"   
  
"My dad kicked me out."  Nolan mumbles, looking away and down.  "I don't have a car to sleep in and I didn't know where else to go."   
  
"Did he do this?"  Melissa whispers, anger dripping from each word, and Nolan almost snaps his neck to to look at her and reassure her it wasn't.   
  
"No, no it really was lacrosse."  Nolan's eyes go wide as he swallows and continues shaking his head adamantly.  "I just... May have left out the part where it was a lacrosse player from another team.  Who's a werewolf. And it was after the game was over. In the parking lot."   
  
"Come in, Nolan."  Melissa sighs as she steps back and ushers him into the house.  She closes the door behind them and guides him up the stairs to Scott's room.  "We can make up the couch for you tomorrow, but it's late, so just sleep here for tonight."   
  
"I..." Nolan looks at Melissa, but something catches in his throat suddenly and his eyes start to water of their own volition.   
  
"It's going to be okay."  She says firmly, nodding at him, arms crossed over her chest.  "You did the right thing coming here. Scott would be upset if you hadn't come to us first."   
  
She reaches forward and caresses the bruised side of his face gently.  With a distinctly motherly frown of concern, she walks out of the room, closing the door behind her.   
  
Nolan, exhausted both physically and mentally, throws himself on Scott's bed, hugging one of the pillows to his chest.   
  
He looks around the room.   
  
He's been in it before.  The first time was about a year ago, when he finally got the courage to apologize to Scott for everything he'd done to him and his pack.  Scott had taken him into his arms before Nolan had even noticed the tears streaming down his own face. The man held him, understanding the grief and self-loathing he'd been repressing, and speaking words of wisdom and comfort into his hair until Nolan had wept himself to sleep.   
  
He'd woken to the shrieks of laughter coming from downstairs later that evening, and upon following the noises downstairs, discovered Scott, Theo, and Malia having a full-on tickling match as Liam made sandwiches.  He'd stood there watching timidly until Liam appeared at his side, holding out a sandwich and shaking his head in the direction of the other three.   
  
Nolan, for the first time, had actually felt accepted.  Like he was one of them. Despite the time he'd spent with his co-captain and the doting boyfriend that came with him, there had always been the underlying tension of their past.  Of the things that Nolan couldnt quite forgive himself for. Not until he'd spoken to the leader of the pack and gotten his forgiveness.   
  
Scott, of course, would always maintain there was nothing to forgive, but Nolan would always remember that day because he felt like it was Scott accepting him, and therefore everyone accepting him into the pack.  It was something he hadnt known he'd wanted, but he knew it was what he'd been waiting for. Especially as Theo and Liam dropped him off at his Dad's later. Liam had reached into the backseat to grab his knee before he could get out to say, "Just because Theo and I are moving after school's out, doesn't mean we're not here if you need us.  I know you feel like we're all graduating and leaving you. But we're here."   
  
Nolan's heart had never felt lighter than it did that day.   
  
Nolan drifts to sleep easily for the first time in months, nose buried into Scott's pillow,  knowing that scent means he's safe and protected.   
  
*****   
  
The first thing Nolan feels when he wakes is warm sun shining on his face, a sensation he's unaccustomed to.  At his Dad's, he would always set an alarm to make sure he was up and out of the house before he ran into his father.   
  
Without opening his eyes he remembers the events of the night before.   
  
His dad had been fed up with him coming home with bruises, kids following Nolan home and egging his house, or worse, and most of all, having people at work tell him he should be ashamed of his son.   
  
They'd never gotten along, even before the war.  Not after Nolan's mom left them years before to marry a younger man.  Nolan never got along with her either, really. When she left, he threw himself into sports and school and tried to make friends with anyone who'd let him spend a lot of time at their house, just so he could avoid his own.   
  
That was how it was with Gabe's family.  They never seemed to mind Nolan being around all the time.  But after Monroe, everything changed. Most families who had lost people, or who had been prominent leaders in the town's bout of guerilla warfare, had left Beacon Hills when the vast majority of the town stood up with the supernatural, ready to fight by their side.   
  
Nolan's dad was just a quiet, passive, spineless man, with a good job, and a mortgage.  He didn't want to leave, so when people continued harassing Nolan, the easiest solution was just to kick his son out.   
  
He'd told Nolan that he was eighteen, and he had to deal with the poor choices of his past on his own. He'd given Nolan a hundred dollar bill for a hotel room and said, "good luck" before shutting the door in his face.   
  
Nolan stretches his limbs out, back sore from curling around Scott's pillow and staying in that position all night.  He winces as the bruise across his ribs throbs from the movement, then jumps when a warm hand touches the bare skin of his side where his hoodie had bunched up.   
  
"Relax."  Scott speaks evenly as Nolan's eyes fly open and find the Alpha sitting on the other side of the bed.   
  
Nolan obeys the order, his muscles relaxing even more when he realizes Scott is taking the pain from his battered side.   
  
"Who did this to you?"  Scott seems to be trying to keep his tone calm as he pulls his hand away and reaches for Nolan's face instead.  Nolan's hand shoots up and grabs the alpha's, a pleading look in his eyes.   
  
"I'm fine."  Nolan smiles weakly, not letting go of Scott's hand, but not quite holding it properly either.  "I'm fine now. Your mom was nice enough to let me stay in your bed, but she said she would set up the pull out for me, and I'll try and find a place more permanent when I figure out how to get more shifts at the coffee shop, or a second job, or-"   
  
"Nolan."  Scott laughs and shifts his hand in the younger boy's til their fingers are loosely threaded together.  "You're not going anywhere. And you can stay in my bed. Mom and Argent always disappear to his place when he's in town, so there's more than enough room.  But the issue here is that you should have come to me. You're pack, Nolan. You're one of us. And I'm sorry that I haven't been around enough to have your back, but that'll change."   
  
Nolan looks away as his eyes well up at Scott's words.   
  
"Theo and Liam will be pissed you didn't call them when things started getting bad at school."  Scott scolds him, and Nolan turns to him, panicked.   
  
"Don't."  He begs. Scott frowns at him, but Nolan shakes his head adamantly.  "Please, I... I know I should have told you, but I don't want them coming back here threatening to rip apart the Devenford guys.  You know they're irrational like that. I’ll figure out a way to tell them I'm staying here without setting them off. Just give me a day or two."   
  
Scott smirks and shakes his head, letting go of Nolan's hand and standing up from the bed.   
  
"You're right."  Scott lets his eyes roam over Nolan's form.  The human sits up, adjusting his shirt and staring down at himself self-consciously.  Scott sighs, drawing Nolan's attention again. "And you are also getting skinny as hell.  Dude, don't you work at a cafe? Do they feed you there? Get cleaned up and come down for breakfast.  Derek came back into town with us. And we've got a guest who'll be staying in Beacon Hills. With us, actually, for a bit.  At least until we figure things out. I’ll explain later. Everyone is downstairs. Argent is making a fucking feast."   
  
The twenty-one year old alpha werewolf nods and turns to leave.   
  
"Scott?"  Nolan stands slowly, taking three careful strides and wrapping his arms around Scott's broad shoulders and reveling in the feeling of strong arms wrapping around his torso and soft stubble rubbing against his neck.  "Thank you."   
  
Nolan pulls away, feeling warm despite their growing distance.  Scott simply smiles the same crooked grin that always makes Nolan's stomach turn with affection.   
  
They stand, facing each other, eye level perfectly matched now.  Nolan has grown an inch over the past year, and if anything, he feels like Scott is looking up at him in the moment.  But that's probably just the blatant look of adoration and amazement the alpha always seems to have on his face when he looks at the people he loves.

  
Nolan’s breath catches at his own thoughts.  He knows that Scott always says he is one of them.  That he’s pack. Family. But still, Nolan’s stomach curls with nervousness and hope when he thinks about the older man feeling so strongly for him.   
  
"Anything for you, Nolan."  Scott exhales, smile going impossibly wider and more crooked.   
  
He turns and leaves the room, leaving the door ajar and jogging downstairs. Nolan can hear the chatter and laughter coming from the kitchen, and he smiles to himself.  He turns to gather his things from his duffel and hurry through a shower before the raucous crowd downstairs eats all the food.


	2. Chapter 2

 

Nolan and Alec walk leisurely down the sidewalk of mainstreet, shoving the last of their ice cream cones into their faces, as Alec continues to tell Nolan all about how he was turned and how different the wolves he once knew were from the McCall pack.

 

“I just had never met anyone so kind and wonderful and…”  Alec smiles shyly and ducks his head. “They’re all so fucking good looking!”

 

Nolan laughs heartily and elbows the blushing werewolf.

 

“Dude you haven't even met Theo yet.  Or Mason and Corey. And oh my god, Jackson and Ethan.”  Nolan shakes his head as he realizes it is a bit ridiculous how handsome they all are, even for werewolves.

 

“I swear when I saw Derek… and Malia!  Holy shit.” Alec’s eyes go wide and he stares at Nolan in awe.

 

“Well, they are cousins…”  Nolan thinks for a second, making sure he has that connection right.  “There's another one of them. Cora? I haven't met her though.”

 

Alec nods in understanding as he learns the two scariest, and most strikingly gorgeous, of the group he met yesterday actually share genetic blessings.

 

“Thanks for hanging out with me.”  Alec grins at Nolan. “It's cool having someone my age to talk to.  Even if everyone else is just a couple years off, it made me feel really young when Scott introduced everyone and said where they all went to school.  And then saying Derek was starting a master's program at Berkeley? Dude. I'm not even sure I'm gonna graduate because of this werewolf shit.”

 

Alec frowns and stops to sit on a bench the square they've reached.  He leans forward and rests his elbows on his knees, overwhelmed. He scrubs his hands across his face a couple times, blinking and sighing tiredly.

 

Nolan crouches in front of him.

 

“Hey, dude.”  Nolan rests a firm hand on the young werewolf’s shoulder.  “We will figure it out. There's still a couple months in the school year.  Lydia’s mom will help. She might be a bit scary, like her daughter, but she is also has been super kind to me.  And Scott… Scott will find some way to help. It's what he does. Thats why hes a true alpha.”

 

“Thanks.”  Alec smiles, expression still tired and worried.  “I wanna believe that. He seems like a really great alpha.  You're lucky. I would kill to have a boyfriend, or girlfriend, like that.”

 

Nolan chokes on air and stands suddenly, retracting his hand.

 

“What?”  Nolan laughs at Alec’s confused expression.  “No, I'm not his… he’s not my-”

 

Nolan laughs, nervous, flailing aimlessly as he searches for the words to simply deny Alec’s assumption.  Alec squints in concern and rears back to avoid being maimed by the human’s spastic gesticulation.

 

“We’re not dating.  Scott doesn't feel that way… not about me, he’s… it's not like that.  He just takes care of everyone that way.” He finishes finally, turning away and sighing at the sunset.

 

“Oh.”  Alec nods, still confused.  He arches his eyebrow in disbelief that there's nothing between the eighteen year old and his new alpha.  “I just though since he's always smiling at you like that and you share his room-”

 

“It’s complicated.”  Nolan cuts the other teen off with a cringe and a shy smile.  “I can tell you a bit about it on the walk back. Melissa and Argent are probably home, and I said we’d be back to help cook dinner.”

 

Nolan holds his hand out for the werewolf, helping him up and leading the way back toward the street that will take them to the Scott’s neighborhood.

 

“Wait…”  Nolan squeaks, tripping himself up suddenly.  He starts walking sideways, hitting Alec on the shoulder with the back of his hand.  “How does Scott smile at me?”

 

Alec laughs and shakes his head, but urges Nolan to tell him about how he came to live with Scott instead.

 

When Alec arrived a couple days ago, Scott hadn't brought up Nolan’s household presence as anything but a cheery: “he lives here.”  He had quickly moved on to telling them all about what the plan for Alec’s stay in Beacon Hills was.

 

Scott has stayed with Nolan in his room the past couple nights.  More or less. They’d simply stayed up talking themselves to sleep the past two nights, Nolan not remembering falling asleep, and Scott always being gone when Nolan awoke.  The human and the alpha had, and still have, a lot to catch up on. They also spoke of happy, fun, positive things going on with the more distant pack members.

 

Malia, Liam, and Theo went to a big music festival and made friends with another pack at their school.

 

Derek, who was starting back at post graduate soon, had heard from Cora that she and her pack had successfully fought off a small group of Monroe-affiliated hunters.  He left early that morning to go visit her and get more details.

 

Even after the explanation, Alec looks at Nolan with obvious doubt.

 

“I dunno, man.”  Alec smirks over at Nolan as they approach the house finally.  “You tell me there's nothing there and I'll believe you. Packs are close, I get that.  But Scott just…”

 

Alec stops, hearing that none of the wolves are inside the McCall home.

 

“Scott looks at you like Taron Egerton looks at every male co-star he's ever had.”  Alec jokes, wincing immediately. “In retrospect, that's not a good comparison, because he's not actually like… into guys, I don't think, but you know what I mean.”

 

“No.”  Nolan shakes his head, extremely confused.  “Who's Tara Ed…”

 

“You know what, I just... nevermind, dude.”  Alec laughs, incredulous. “The point is, it seems like there's something there.”

 

Nolan scuffs his show along the sidewalk and continues leading the way back to the house.

 

He thinks of Scott.

 

Of course he has a thing for Scott.  It feels like everyone does on some level.  He's a little socially awkward, and if you look closely his jawline is a little uneven, but Nolan isn't sure that anyone who has met Scott hasn't thought about him romantically.

 

But Scott can't possibly want him the way that Nolan _may or may not_ dream about at night.

 

That's just not the way life works for Nolan.

 

*****

 

Nolan wakes while it’s still dark out, eyeing the bedside clock as soon as he gets his bearings.

 

“Sowee.”  Scott’s voice infiltrates his muted senses.

 

Nolan yawns into his arm as he turns from the bright red ‘3:30 AM’ to face the muffled voice coming from Scott’s en suite.  The alpha is standing by the sink, toothbrush hanging from his mouth, shirtless and in low slung sweats, and Nolan’s heart does something funny at the domestic sight.  Something which he would rather not acknowledge in his half-woken state. Scott rinses out his mouth before speaking again. “Got home a day early. Kind of. Alec is in the guest bathroom showering, and Argent is in my moms.  I tried to be quiet enough not to wake you.”

 

“‘Sfine.”  Nolan breathes out, scrubbing at his eyes before watching Scott move around the room for a minute, picking up his jeans to find his phone and then plugging it into the charger on the nightstand.  Nolan looks up as Scott fiddles with his phone, the harsh blue light casting shadows across his face. “You crashing with me again?”

 

“Do you mind?”  Scott yawns, knowing the answer, but making a point, as always, to be considerate and respect Nolan.  He climbs onto the empty side of bed looking more exhausted than Nolan feels. “I'm fucking beat.”

 

“Mm-mm… stay.  It's your bed.”  Nolan shakes his head as he turns and scoots closer to Scott, nosing his shoulder sleepily.  Scott lifts his left arm, putting it above Nolan's head and pulling him into his side. He goes willingly, snuggling into Scott’s chest and throwing an arm lazily around the werewolf’s torso.  He smiles into Scott’s skin. “M’own personal heater.”

 

“That's all I'm good for? Not my nice comfortable bed, or my house full of perpetually fresh meals and hospitality?”  Scott whispers in mock disappointment. He squeezes Nolan harder, but it simply makes the human relaxed further, nodding into Scott’s pec.

 

“Yeah, no.”  Nolan sighs, already succumbing to the heaviness of the hour.  “Just the cuddles.”

 

Scott laughs softly and presses a kiss to Nolan’s hair, but before the human can think too hard on it, the heat from Scott’s body quickly eases him over the edge, back into a peaceful slumber.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know its not a lot, but like half thus fix us done, it's just hard to figure out how to piece it together. Y'all know what it's like.


	3. Chapter 3

Nolans looks up from his textbook to see Scott roll over and yawn.  The alpha werewolf rubs his eyes tiredly and glances at the clock, then down at by the book spread out in front of his bedmate.

 

“Are you doing homework at **_six_** **_AM_**?  On a Sunday morning?”  Scott mumbles, squinting up at Nolan in the harsh morning light.

 

Nolan shuts the book softly, using his notes to hold his place.  He puts it on the dresser next to Scott's bed and scoots from his sitting position, rustling around to get back under the covers, facing Scott.

 

“Just passing time til you woke up.”  Nolan shrugs. He pulls his knee up and it nudges Scott’s thigh.  Nolan swears he feels Scott shift so that his leg is pressing back against Nolan’s.  “How did it go last night?”

 

Scott sighs and looks straight up at the ceiling.

 

“Alec is… a good student?  I just worry about going out of town for his first full moon here.”  Scott furrows his brow adorably, as if not sure of his answer. It was something that Nolan had learned, very early into this arrangement, makes his traitorous heart skip a beat.  Scott's confusion increases visibly as his eyes flick to Nolan’s chest.

 

“Everything will be fine.”  Nolan stifles a yawn. He brings a hand up and smooths the crease in Scott’s forehead.  “You know that Malia, Theo and Liam can handle him. They're not as much of a trainwreck when all three of them are together.  I'm still very confused about their relationship, by the way.”

 

“Isn't everyone?”  Scott laughs, nuzzling into the hand that lingered a bit too long near his forehead.  Nolan lets him nose at his palm and thumb before moving to run his fingers across the soft stubble of Scott’s cheek and settling finally on the side of the alpha’s neck.  Scott hums slightly, tilting his head away from Nolan to stare at the ceiling. “They’re happy. That's all that matters. Malia is keeping them from killing each other, and they're giving Malia the tether she needs to the pack.  To home. Malia will always be able to adapt, anywhere she goes, and she loves adventures and exploring. She loves being alone. But… she also loves us. And wants to know that she’s still one of us.”

 

“And they give her that.”  Nolan finishes the explanation for him.  He looks at Scott's now content expression and hesitates before attempting to ask the question he’s been dying to ask.  “They don’t like… it's not like a… I mean-”

 

“Nolan.”  Scott giggles, still staring at the ceiling.  “I know you're nowhere  _ near _ a virgin, so it should not be this hard for you to ask if they're having sex.”

 

“Whatever, man.”  Nolan grins, burrowing his face into Scott’s shoulder.  “You don't know shit.”

 

“Oh, I know.”  Scott laughs again, hard enough that his shoulders shake.  “I was your cross country coach, and you idiots were not very careful around people with supernatural hearing.  It was pretty traumatizing that one day Stiles came to visit in his stupid nice interview clothes. Just hearing how many members of the lacrosse team wanted Stiles to make them call him ‘daddy’ was enough to make me turn down the position when season started.”

 

“Gross.  I remember that.  I was firmly on the ‘anti’ side of that conversation.”  Nolan gagged playfully.

 

“Yes, well, you then proceeded to supply the team with the humorous story of when you ran out on a guy in the middle of sex because he kept calling  _ you _ daddy.”  Scott stage whispers, tilting his head back toward Nolan and mumbles into his hair.  “And yet you can't ask me if three of your friends are boning.”

 

“Fine.”  Nolan huffs, trying to hide his smile at the way Scott’s lips haven't left his hairline.  “Are ‘dumb and dumber’ having sex with Malia?”

 

“No.”  Scott says softly.  “Not that I can tell anyway.  But I wouldn't put it past them.  And I would still be happy for all of them if they were, you know that right?”

 

“Yeah.”  Nolan sighs, closing his eyes and relaxing into the bed as sleep tempts him once more.

 

Nolan lifts his knee so that it's resting on top of Scott’s thigh.  Scott's face relaxes and he supinates his leg so that it slides, open, underneath Nolan’s.

 

It's these little things that they do so easily that leave Nolan’s head and chest swimming.  And most times, he looks at Scott and thinks the alpha might be going through the same tumultuous circuit of emotions.

 

But then, Scott always just smiles at Nolan, the confusion falling from his face, and Nolan remembers that this is Scott.

 

Scott who loves everyone.

 

Scott who is deeply affectionate with everyone in his life, from his ex-girlfriends to the mailman.

 

And Nolan isn't anything special, he thinks as he drifts back to sleep, unable to help the safe, relaxing feeling of the werewolf’s body heat.

 

He’s just the latest person in a long line of people who Scott McCall has saved.

  
  


*****

  
  


“So.  You're sleeping with Scott.”  Malia mumbles through a mouthful of cheesecake, breaking the peaceful silence of their dinner.  Melissa had made a late night, calorie heavy dinner for when Malia and the boys got back from Alec’s first full moon in Beacon Hills.  Malia had been eyeing him all through dinner, and while they were out running, he’d received a mysterious text from Lydia Martin saying, ‘Impressive, Holloway.’

 

So, Nolan shouldn't be surprised.

 

But he is.

 

He chokes on his desert as Theo and Liam begin shouting excitedly.

 

“What!  Since when?”

 

“Is that why you hadn't been answering our calls?”

 

“Boys.  Malia.” Melissa scolds, a strange pained expression on her face.  “Can we not talk about my son’s sex life over dinner?”

 

“Whoa, wait, no.”  Nolan shouts after his throat clears.  He stands from the table, holding his hands up and backing away in innocence.  “I am not having sex with anyone. This is…  _ no _ .”

 

“Apparently we’re gonna talk about this.”  Melissa mumbles to herself, digging into her own cheesecake with a frown and settling in for the latest episode of unnecessary dramatic pack overshare.

 

Theo, Liam and Malia stare at Nolan expectantly.

 

“What?!”  The human flails hysterically, taking in their scrutinous faces.  “I’m not! C’mon, I'm serious, like… okay... yes, we share a room, but I mean he’s never there-”

 

“He’s there at least five nights a week.”  Melissa mumbles around a bite of cheesecake, looking at it instead of Nolan, and pushing a blueberry around her plate innocently.

 

“Oh my…”  Nolan rolls his eyes, accompanied by a full head motion in the same exasperated manner.  “Melissa, come  _ on. _  You know that I'm not… we’re not…”

 

“Hey.”  Melissa shrugs, popping the blueberry from her cheesecake into her mouth.  “I'm only here like two or three nights a week myself, and I was under the impression Scott was going to move into my room.  It's not like I can't just stay at Argents all week, it wouldn't be that inconvenient. I’d sure have a lot more privacy, what with the supernatural headquarters my house has become-”

 

“Melissa, shush, we’re gossiping.”  Malia waves her hand rudely at the only woman she’d ever known as a mother.

 

Melissa gapes at her, offended and ready to say something, when Alec walks into the room, freshly showered but looking exhausted.  He hadn't even made it to the shower before starting in on dinner, and therefore missed the start of gossip-time.

 

“They aren't having sex.”  Alec sighs, moving to sit next to Melissa at the table.  “But they do cuddle and whisper and sigh a lot when they're in bed together.”

 

“ _ Ooooooh _ .”  Theo and Liam chorus, teasing, before breaking out into laughter and fist bumping.

 

“Fucking weirdos.”  Malia mutters. She turns on Nolan with a judging stare.  “Why aren't you having sex with Scott? Sex with Scott is fun.”

 

“And  _ I'm _ out.”  Melissa stands, chair screeching against the linoleum loudly.  She sets her dish into the sink and departs for the stairs. “Malia, do the dishes before you go to bed, because you are the worst.  I mean that. The absolute worst. And that's on a scale of ‘One to Theo.’”

 

“Hey!”  Theo whines as the McCall matriarch walked upstairs.

 

Nolan huffs and starts for the sink, half finished slice of cheesecake in hand.

 

“Hey, if you’re not gonna eat it, can I have that?”  The offended look on Theo’s face disappears in favor of intercepting the unfinished desert.  Nolan hands it over easily, and Theo grins thankfully. “I'll take Scott too, since you don't seem to be taking advantage of that either, and that man is a snack, if you ask me.”

 

Liam elbows the chimera sharply in the side, but Nolan can see the beta holding in a snicker for his benefit.

 

Unlike Malia, who guffaws loudly, slapping the table in delight.

 

“Guys, don't be mean to Nolan, he's like my only friend.”  Alec pouts without opening his eyes. He leans on the table, putting his chin in his hand.

 

“Look.”  Nolan bends over and slaps his hands down on the table next to Malia’s, staring down the three out of towners.  “You’re all being ridiculous. This is all  _ ridiculous _ .  I don't understand how this keeps coming up.  You guys know Scott. He’s just… everyone loves him.  Because he’s Scott. He’s like this with everyone, I'm no different than anyone else in the pack other than the fact that I'm here.”

 

Nolan stands upright.  He crosses his arms, taking in the confused stares of everyone around the table. Alec looks at him with pity, mouth agape, like he wants to say something.  Liam is frozen, mid text on his phone, with his eyebrows raised doubtfully. Theo and Malia are giving twin looks of disapproval.

 

“No.”  Nolan raises his voice.  “This seriously needs to stop.  Stop texting people and telling them we’re together, because we’re not.  You’re all delusional if you think that Scott and I would ever be in a relationship.”

 

The front door slams shut and Nolan turns his head toward it, startled.

 

Scott stands there, face blank.  Chris is already climbing the stairs, presumably to tell Melissa they're home a couple days early.

 

Scott’s expression is disturbingly vacant, but what's more upsetting is the state of his clothing.  His shirt is gone, a dirt laden zip up hoodie that looks like it probably belongs to Chris is hanging loosely off his shoulders.  His jeans are soaked through with blood on the left side and he seems to have left his shoes elsewhere. Understandable from the state of his other apparel.

 

“Scott, what-”  Malia is first to rise from her chair and she starts toward her ex-boyfriend cautiously, stopping when he raises his hands tiredly.

 

“I'm _fine_.  Deaton is... fine.”  Scott placates the group, as the wolves all tense at the scent of fresh blood.  Scott sighs as he turns toward the stairs. “We found her. We found Morrell. She didn’t just have something, like she said.  She had Tamora.”

 

Nolan tenses instinctively at the name.  Scott grabs the banister tightly and looks back at them, still not meeting anyone's eye.

 

“They're dead.  It was a trap. Set for me.”  He croaks out. “Morrell and Monroe are both dead.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here have some sadness and a pinch of character development.

In the two and a half weeks since Nolan moved into the McCall house, he hasn't seen Scott cry.

 

In fact, the last time he saw the alpha cry was over a year ago, when they all gathered at the memorial for Gabe.  Nolan hadn't cried at the funeral. He had done nothing but cry for the two days since the day the battle for Beacon Hills ended, blaming himself, being angry at Gabe, being angry at Monroe.

 

Instead, when they stood at the memorial service, Nolan stared at Scott.  Scott, who was shedding tears for a fallen enemy. No matter how innocent Gabe was at one time, two days ago he wanted nothing more than to see Scott dead.  And when he was in the grave instead, at the hands of men who were supposed to be in his side, Scott genuinely mourned him.

 

Nolan knew after that.

 

He knew that the right side had won.

 

Nolan shakes the memory from his head as he focuses on the alpha werewolf hunched over the sink.  Scalding water pours from the shower beside him, but he makes no move to disrobe. Leans on his dirt covered hands, letting the steam fill the room around him.

 

Nolan takes a slow step forward, into the steam filled bathroom, giving Scott time to yell at him or tell him to back off.  To do anything but just stare down at his hands, void of emotion.

 

“Scott, let me-” Nolan’s words die in his throat as Scott looks up finally, his crimson colored eyes meeting the human’s.  He doesn't look upset, or even unwelcoming. Just sad and tired, which was not a typical combination with the fierce glow of Scott’s alpha eyes.  Nolan steps forward again, reaching for the zipper of the oversized hoodie. “I'm going to take your clothes down to the garage while you get in the shower, okay?”

 

Scott nods absently, letting Nolan push the sweater off of him and then with shaky hands he reaches for the zipper on his dirt and blood caked jeans.

 

Nolan lets the hoodie drop at his side in favor of placing his hands on top of Scott’s trembling ones.  He crowds in closer, eliminating as much space as possible between them considering the position of their hands.  He angles his head to the side so the long expanse of his neck is bared and ducks his to rest his forehead in the crook of Scott’s neck and shoulder.  He feels Scott instinctively press his nose and mouth against the thinly stretched skin and breathe in deep.

 

“Its over.”  Nolan speaks, low and careful as Scott inhales and exhales slowly against his skin. “You're not there anymore.  You're home. With me. It's just us here. You and me.”

 

After a couple minutes, Scott takes a sharper, greedier breath, and Nolan can feel the tiny splash of a tear against his throat and he pulls back finally, not looking Scott in the eyes.

 

He knows he’s back with him.

 

Nolan undoes the button on Scott’s jeans, hands still on top of the werewolf’s and that seems to kick Scott back into action, his now steady hands moving to do the rest by himself.  Nolan lets his hands fall away as Scott steps out of the jeans and the boxer briefs underneath that had seemed to have been soaked into as well.

 

“Can you just…”  Scott chokes out, standing up, nude, and handing them to Nolan, their eyes meeting again.  They’re no longer glowing, but instead rimmed red and glossy. “Can you throw them away? Just.  Trash it all.”

 

Nolan nods, holding Scott's gaze a moment longer before picking up the discarded sweater and making his way out of the room.  He hears the distinct sound of the curtain rustling and Scott getting into the shower before he descends the stairs to see Melissa and Argent waiting for him in the living room.

 

“Is he...?”  Melissa frowns, standing from the sofa.  “Did he tell you what happened?”

 

Nolan shakes his head.

 

“I'm guessing we should probably throw these away.”  Argent nods to the clothes in Nolan’s hands then motions for the door to the garage.

 

Nolan walks out to the garage, both of them following behind.  He throws them in the trash bin and hears Argent shut the door.

 

“We’re gonna go.”  Melissa rubs Nolan's shoulder comfortingly.  “Malia went and stayed at the Geyers’ and Alec is passed out solid upstairs, but if you need anything Nolan-”

 

“How’d it happen?”  Nolan chokes on the words, still overwhelmed from how out of it Scott was and the instinct he had to protect him.  The true alpha. The man who never needs protection.

 

“Marin was keeping her captive.  She had her tied up in a hotel out off the highway not far out of the county, actually.  Scott tried to reason with her, offered to get his dad to help her. She was nastier than usual.  She knew some things that let her get under Scott’s skin. The things she said about… there were things that _don't need to be repeated_.”  Argent’s tone is somber and he can't meet Nolan’s eyes. Melissa grips Nolan’s neck tighter and he knows that Melissa has heard more details, but figures from the tense air about the older couple, this isn't going to be a story that Scott would have wanted to retell.  “But minutes after we got there, two well trained hunters burst into the room. They shot at Deaton and I. Scott was shielding Deaton while I drew my gun at them. Marin used some sort of powder to incapacitate the hunters, but as soon as they were out, I heard a gun cock and I turned to see Monroe freed and holding up a gun.”

 

Argent winces in frustration and takes a deep breath.

 

“Scott dove at her,  stuck his claws pretty deep into her shoulder trying to take her down, but it was too late.”  Argent sighed. “She shot Marin clear through the chest before I got to my gun. Scott went to Marin, held her, tried to take her pain away, but... it was too much, she didn't stand a chance.  And Deaton, he just… Deaton _demanded_ that we leave him there with Monroe, who was still alive, and he would call 911 about the attack.  I think that Scott got Monroe far enough from her lungs that an ambulance probably could save her, she was still alive. But from the vacant look on Deaton’s face, it seemed clear that he didn't plan on letting her stay that way. Scott didn't say a word. He just looked down at Morell and all the blood, and he walked out the door, making a call to his Dad to run interference.”

 

Nolan shocks himself with the way he exhales harshly, like he'd forgotten to breathe the whole time Argent was speaking.

 

“We ran into their backup, a couple of kids, on the road back to the highway, and when they asked us to get out of the vehicle Scott stood in front of them, and said ‘This is the blood of your leader.  There is no war anymore.’ And they ran.”

 

Argent sighs, running a hand across his beard.

 

“I think he knows that there was nothing he could have done better to prevent it going down like that.”  Melissa speaks finally, pulling away from Nolan to press closer to Argent. “But this is exactly how Scott didn't want it to end.  And this is _Scott_. Just, take care of him, okay? Make him eat something eventually too, he’s awful at that when he’s upset. We’re here if you need anything, Nolan.  Give me a call tomorrow.”

 

Nolan nods.  He starts for the house again, turning to Argent before going back inside.

 

“Thanks.”  Nolan says, unsure whether he's thanking the man for telling him the story or for bringing Scott home alive, when it very easily could've gone the other way.

 

He doesn't wait for an answer, and retreats into the house, stopping in the kitchen for a water and to scrub the invisible traces of blood off his hands before climbing the stairs back to his, or Scott’s, room.

 

The shower is still running when Nolan gets upstairs, and without missing a beat, he walks into the bathroom to check on Scott.

 

He’s sitting on the floor of the tub, arms wrapped loosely around his knees, the still-hot spray beating down on him as he hangs his head.  Nolan pushes the curtain open a bit more, but he doesn't stir from his position.

 

He looks and smells clean, like the body wash that they now both use every day.  Nolan reaches forward and turns off the shower head. He crouches down, digging a hand into Scott’s wet hair, brushing through it a couple times.

 

“C’mon Scott, come to bed.”  Nolan whispers. He stands up to grab the closest towel.  Scott stirs, finally, moving with obvious fatigue, and grabs the towel from Nolan, a quiet ‘thank you’ escaping him as Nolan reaches for his toothbrush and gets ready for bed.

 

They stand side by side in the small bathroom, Scott slowly towel drying his hair and Nolan rinsing out his mouth of toothpaste.  When he's done, he gets Scott's toothbrush ready for him and turns around, offering it silently.

 

“I put some water on the dresser if you need some.”  Nolan tells Scott with a hint of a smile, knowing the man won't return it, but just trying to offer any semblance of home and comfort he can.  Scott accepts his toothbrush and steps up to the sink as Nolan goes into the bedroom to change.

 

When he's done pulling on loose sweats, that belong to Scott, he thinks absently, he ponders how they got here this fast.  To the point where the room became their space, not just one or the other’s. Nolan's underwear and clean clothes usually stay in a laundry basket on top of the dresser, but as the weeks had passed, a few of Scott's things had mixed with his, and some of his shirts that shouldn’t be folded now hang mixed into in Scott's closet, as if they belonged to the older man.

 

He reaches into the top dresser drawer and grabs some boxer briefs at random, throwing them to Scott as he exits the bathroom.  He pauses misstep and puts them on wordlessly before walking toward Nolan’s side of the bed.

 

Nolan scoffs out loud, unintentionally, at his own thoughts and Scott looks up, almost startled.  Nolan walks up to Scott and reaches up to his damp hair, sticking up in several directions where he’d last rubbed a towel through it.

 

“Thank you for coming home in one piece.”  Nolan pouts as he determinedly focuses on giving some semblance of order to Scott’s unruly locks.

 

Before he can register the movement, Scott’s arms are around his waist, picking him up and tossing him gently on the bed.  Nolan’s bare back hits the cool sheets barely a second before Scott is crawling on top of him, bracing himself so that he’s hovering over the length of Nolan’s body and burying his face in the side of Nolan’s neck, just breathing like he had before.

 

Nolan doesn't think as he hitches his knee up, pressing it into Scott’s hip. He circles his arms up around Scott’s ribcage to press down on his shoulder blades until he felt the man relax and drop his full weight on top of Nolan.

 

Nolan’s body relaxes tenfold, the anxiety of Scott’s behavior washing away as the werewolf shifts on top of him.  Their legs tangle and Nolan’s hand drift absently up and down Scott’s spine until his breathing slows.

  
  
  
  



	5. Chapter 5

 

Nolan wakes the next morning to the sun on his face.

 

The sound of a duffel zipping up makes him sit up in bed and look to his left.

 

Scott stands, fully dressed, near the bathroom, typing away on his phone.  The packed bag at his feet means something that Nolan is now familiar with.

 

“You’re leaving?”  Nolan swings his legs over the edge of the bed, sitting up and rubbing at his eyes.  “Where-”

 

“I'm going with Malia for a couple days to go see Stiles.  My dad too. I texted my mom. I just… I need to.” Scott answers, pocketing his phone and walking toward Nolan with his shoes in hand.  He sits down to put them on and doesn't look up at Nolan

 

Nolan wants to say something supportive or at least something to break the tension.

 

“Okay, that sounds… Hey… Did I do something wrong?”  Nolan asks quietly instead.

 

Scott sighs and puts his foot down as he finishes tying his second shoe.  He looks up into Nolan’s tired, worried eyes. The corner of Scott's mouth tilts up and he reaches for an eyelash on Nolan’s cheek, brushing it away with his thumb then letting his hand come to rest on the back of Nolan’s neck.

 

“You did everything right.”  Scott answers, but his smile stays sad, and Nolan wants to do anything he can to wipe it away.  Because this feels like a ‘goodbye’ instead of a ‘see you soon’ and Nolan isn't okay with that.

 

His eyes focus on Scott's lips, and he knows the alpha werewolf can easily pick up the rise in his heartbeat and must know what he wants.

 

What he always wants.

 

The desire that he has to just lean in and meet Scott’s uncomfortable smile with his own determined frown, and make the shapes of their mouths irrelevant, here in the light of the early morning sun.

 

“Nolan.”  Scott sucks in a breath and grips the nape of the human’s neck tighter.  “There's so much I want to-”

 

* **_BEEEEEEP BEEP*_ **

 

Nolan pulls back in a hurry.  He stands, blushing furiously and rubs a hand on the back of his neck to brush away the tingling feeling left from Scott’s warmth.

 

“Go.”  Nolan puts a enthusiastic smile on his face.  He nods excessively. “I'm sure it'll be nice to get away and out this out of your head.  Malia will take care of you. Stiles will be so glad to see you.”

 

Scott stands and reaches out but Malia honks outside again and he frowns, turning to pick up his bag instead.

 

“I'll be back for Sunday.”  Scott nods at him before walking out of the room and then out the door, leaving Nolan to get ready for school.

 

*****

 

“So, Scott left.”  Alec prompts on their drive to school.

 

Nolan picks at the peeling leather on the steering wheel.  He remembers the time Scott had spent a few weeks back trying to teach him to drive the jeep.

 

They’d laughed and then yelled at each other and then laughed again in triumph once the painful few hours had come to a successful end.  Then they’d brought home milkshakes and watched Zootopia until Nolan fell asleep, exhausted. He’d woken up later in ~~their~~  Scott’s bed, a note on the side table saying the Alpha would be back in a couple days.

 

And he’d come back to Nolan as he promised.  Just like he always did.

 

“Yeah.”  Nolan shrugs, pulling into the school lot and parking near the gym.  “He just needed to get away for a couple days after…”

 

Nolan breathes in, readying himself for the last few useless days at Beacon Hills High School.

 

“About last night…”  Alec starts, following Nolan into the school.  “Do you think we’ll be safe now? Do you think they'll stop coming for us?”

 

Nolan stops at Alec’s locker.  He bites his lip as he looks around the halls of the school he’d both loved and hated over the past few years.  The place that had put fear and comfort in him at different times.

 

He sees the girls from the cheerleading team who he knows are born wolves, having driven them out of the school himself at one point.

 

They giggle and smile and wave at him and he nods back.

 

It hits him then, that he’s  _ leaving _ .  Even though he’s not been the most popular kid in school at times, they all know what he's done, and they've welcomed him with open arms.  Despite not always being it’s most noble product, this place… it's been his home.

 

He’s had a place here, on all the days he didn't have a place in his own home, Beacon Hills High School was here for him, terrifying as it was sometimes.

 

“Alec, I don't think that…  _ with your condition…  _ you’ll ever really be safe from people who let fear drive them.”  Nolan turns to the kid who’s going to be all alone for his senior year of high school in this big, weird, cursed school.  “But as long as Scott is around, as long as the pack is around, they'll keep you safe.”

 

Nolan smiles at Alec, who's closing his locker up with a furrowed brow.

 

“Oh, c’mon, cheer up.”  Nolan slings an arm around the other teen’s shoulders, walking his to his first class, a practice that's been instinctive in the past few weeks since Alec had enrolled.  “I'm only going to BHCC. I'm going to be here with you more than you can stand. You're not getting rid of me that easy.”

 

Alec rolls his eyes and let's the human lead him toward his first final of the week.

  
  


*****

 

The week flashes by like lightning, and Alec and Nolan go to all the parties that celebrate the close of another year in their hellmouth town.

 

They sing and dance and hug and Nolan prepares for his graduation ceremony, spending all day in the sun, practicing the procession with a couple hundred other restless seniors.

 

By Saturday night, Nolan falls into bed, exhausted, ready for the next day and the moment he’s been preparing for for the last twelve years.

 

But as he falls asleep that night, all he can dream about is placing kisses along a strong, stubbled, crooked jaw, and red eyes flashing playfully in the dark of the room.

 

He dreams of holding a lean, muscular frame in his arms.  Warm, tanned skin beneath his own. A smooth, bare expanse of skin in front of his cheek as he nuzzles closer to the rising and falling ribcage pressed against his face.

 

He realizes it's not a dream and his sleepy frown splits into a grin.

 

“You're back.”  Nolan says, still slurring groggily.

 

“It's graduation day, of course I'm back.”  Scott whispers, barely loud enough for Nolan to make out. 

 

“Mmm, I missed you.”  Nolan smiles into the back of Scott's neck.  “I missed my personal heater.”

 

“You won't want it this summer, I promise.”  Scott’s gravelly voice responds as he relaxes further in Nolan’s arms.

 

“I'll always want it.”  Nolan mumbles against the borderline-uncomfortably-warm skin of Scott’s shoulder.  He instinctively presses closer to the entire length of Scott’s back, belatedly realizing that it would press the erection he didn't realize he had into Scott’s lower back.

 

“Jesus.”  Scott whispers so low that Nolan’s not sure he expects the teen to hear.

 

Nolan freezes and goes through a quick moment of indecision about whether he should move away, but it's not the first time one of them had woken up hard while they cuddled, it just happened to be the first time that one of them had pressed in closer, and with the intimate position they were in, he knew he wasn't going to be rid of the affliction any time soon.

 

Any doubt Nolan has left about making Scott uncomfortable flies away as the werewolf shifts suddenly, sliding a leg backward between Nolan’s, tangling them together and pressing himself more firmly against Nolan’s groin.

 

“Scott.”  Nolan breathes out against his tanned skin, not being able to help the kneejerk way his hips tilt forward, chasing the just-short-of-enough pressure against his morning wood.

 

“Yeah?”  Scott rasps out.

 

It sounds more like permission than a question.

 

Nolan’s pulse speeds up as he untangles himself from Scott, pulling the werewolf’s shoulder to press him flat to the bed and climbing over him to straddle his hips.  Despite Scott’s supernatural strength, he goes pliant, easy for Nolan to manhandle.

 

Nolan bites his lip to hold in a groan at the way that makes him feel.

 

Scott could snap him in two with his bare hands, and yet, the powerful alpha willingly opens up to Nolan’s touch.  Letting him in. Trusting him.

 

Nolan buries his face into the crook of Scott’s neck, nosing at his jawline, biting gently at the skin over his jugular vein.

 

The taste of Scott’s skin rests on Nolan’s tongue like a snack he’s been craving for days but hasn’t been able to put a name to.  He moans into the older man’s collar before licking a stripe up the prominent bone and nipping at the tender muscle at its end.

 

“Jesus fucking…” Scott whispers loud enough for Nolan to hear clearly this time as he arches up slightly, his hands flying up to grab Nolan’s thin, muscular waist.  The movement drags their base of their erections against each other briefly, and Nolan exhales heavily against the broad surface of Scott’s bare chest.

 

“God, I missed you.”  Nolan grins into the golden brown skin below his lips as he kisses a path down Scott’s sternum.

 

“Nolan.”  Scott moans, gently pulling at the younger man’s hair.  “Nolan, stop. Oh shit, that's...”

 

Nolan smiles as bites down gently on Scott’s nipple and he feels the werewolf’s erection flex and strain inside those thin, low-slung sweats alongside his own.  He presses down with his hips, and Scott’s moan turns into a choked off gasp for air.

 

“Just let me make you feel good.”  Nolan pauses to suck an short-term mark into Scott’s collar bone.  “You do so much, Scott. For me. For all of us. You deserve this. Please let me do this for you.”

 

Nolan moves from biting at Scott’s chest to leaving a trail of wet, reddened marks down his hard and twitching abdominals as slides down his body with intent.

 

“Wait, fuck.”  Scott tugs at Nolan’s hair again, harder this time.  He flexes his abdomen as he pulls Nolan back up so that the human is face to face with him, morning wood still pressing together as Nolan sits up in his lap.  “It sort of feels like this is the stupidest thing I've ever said, but please stop.”

 

Nolan frowns and tries to move off of Scott in a hurry, heart beating fast and loud in his ears as he realizes how pathetic he must have looked, forcing himself of Scott like a horny teenager.

 

“Sorry, I’m sorry.  I thought you wanted-”

 

“Nolan!”  Scott grabs Nolan, sitting all the way up and pulling the human into his lap once more.

 

The embarrassed teen lets himself be pulled limply into the alpha’s embrace.  

 

“Stop worrying.”  Scott says sternly, holding Nolan close and pressing his face to the younger man’s neck.  “You didn't do anything I didn't want. Like, really, really want.”

 

Nolan frowns, but calms down at the soothing feeling of Scott’s breath against his skin.

 

“It’s just… we’re not… I mean, you and I aren't...” Scott stutters over his words, nervous, and it makes Nolan pull back in confusion, looking at the worry lines in Scott’s forehead.

 

“It's just sex, Scott.  I'm not asking you to marry me.”  Nolan laughs nervously. He doesn't understand what's going on in the alpha’s head most days, but they're always able to communicate some how.

 

They're usually so good at it.

 

Scott sighs and shifts Nolan off his lap onto the bed.  He stands and cards a hand through Nolan's sleep-mussed hair.  He smiles briefly, almost sadly, as he leans down kissing Nolan’s temple sweetly.

 

“I don't do ‘just sex.’”  He whispers, pulling away and walking to the ensuite, shutting the door behind him.

 

Nolan sits in place, gnawing on his bottom lip, unable to find a place to even start analyzing what he is supposed to take from the strange turn the morning took.

 

His phone buzzes on the nightstand.

 

It's a text message.

 

From his mother.

**Author's Note:**

> This fic will be slow to update if anyone is going to follow it. Aiming for 6 chapters over the next 2 months.


End file.
